Surely on more than one occasion you have read the term rainbow baby but you are not quite sure what it means. As motherhood is a world, if we have not had the situation, it is easy that we do not know what it is about. That's why we want to tell you what is a rainbow baby so that the next time you hear or read these words you will know their true meaning.
What is a rainbow baby?
It is the llama rainbow babies born after the loss of a previous child, by gestational or perinatal abortion, that would be a star baby. It is a baby that arrives after the storm to bring its light, that is why they are called rainbows. They bring back color, hope and light after the storm.
Unfortunately they are very common miscarriages during pregnancy, and the pain that involves a family that had placed so much hope and happiness in that pregnancy is devastating. In the article "Gestational grief: losing a baby before birth" We told you how the subject of gestational grief is still a taboo subject due to its circumstances, and that pain is usually lived in silence. It can help you if you have been through this situation or know someone close to you who is going through it.
How is a normal pregnancy different from a rainbow baby?
Each pregnancy is experienced in a special way, with a mixed feelings fear, joy, expectation, insecurities, illusion, anxiety ... After the loss of a child, negative feelings increase, the fear that something will go wrong again mixed with the new illusion of a pregnancy. You no longer live a pregnancy with the same innocence after the death of a son.
There are women who feel guilty for feeling happy about the new pregnancy. As if they were dishonoring the memory of his other son. If you are going through this situation, know that you may feel sad about the loss and happy about the new pregnancy. You are entitled to feel both ways, that there are days when you are sadder, and others happier. But don't deny yourself the right to be happy for this new opportunity that life has given you. The new baby will not erase the past, but will bring light to darkness. The rainbow baby has not come to replace the star baby, the memory will still be there.
How many chances are there of conceiving after a miscarriage?
There is no concrete answer. Each woman, each body, each abortion is unique. On one side is the physical rest that the doctor declares in each case before going back to look for a new pregnancy and then there is the psychological rest. The mind needs to accept that the baby is gone and assimilate the grief. There are women who try it as soon as their bodies allow it and others who decide to wait a while. It will depend on each woman and each situation. Do not be in a hurry or feel obliged to run, take the time you need.
The news part is that you have already been pregnant, so in principle there should be no fertility problems. After having an abortion, it may even be easier to conceive in the first 3 months. 70% of women who tried as soon as they had an abortion succeeded in that time.
The fear of it happening again after that experience is logical and normal. Unfortunately there is nothing in your power to prevent it from happening again. It is nature itself that is at stake, it is no one's fault. The probability that you will suffer a new abortion after having one is only 14%. If you have suffered two abortions it would be a risk of 26% and if you have suffered three it would be 28%.
Because remember ... the rainbow baby comes to light up our lives after the storm.